Ferguson SEO Consulting

SEO Marketing Ideas

SEO has evolved and changed over the years (I’ve been doing this for over 10 years and have seen so much change sometimes my head spins).  One thing that remains constant is the importance of SEO.  Actually that isn’t even entirely accurate.  SEO continues to become more important.

seo marketing ideasBack in the good old days, not everyone understood the importance of SEO so there was less competition.  As more and more companies realize the importance and hire an SEO company, the competition continues to get even fiercer and the importance of getting listed in the engines is greater.

Now add the economy into the mix, and things really start to heat up.

As much as I hate to bring up the economy (we are inundated with talk of the economy all day long) I have to.  Not because I want to add to the negative talk out there, but because the poor economy is actually playing an interesting role in how people search online.  More than ever people are comparison shopping, so getting your site listed on top is even more crucial.  You want to be one of the sites they consider when they are doing their comparison shopping.  You also want to make sure your site is in tip-top form so that you can earn that business while they are doing their comparison shopping.

Another interesting tid bit about people’s shopping habits in this crazy economy: while people always look for a deal – they are now looking for who offers the best value and not necessarily the cheapest price.  Rather than automatically lowering your prices like everyone does, why not try building up the value?  Make yourself stand out from the crowd.  Add some freebies in there and win them over with the value you offer!

So, the take away here?

  1. Make sure your site is listed on top of the engines.
  2. Make sure your site is a selling machine and prepared to convert your traffic into good old fashioned paying customers.
  3. Consider bulking up your offerings to increase the value and make sure people feel it’s a no brainer to do business with you.

-R.E. Ferguson

EzineArticles.com Guide to Optimizing Titles for Articles in a Series

This article was posted by Penny, Managing Editor of EzineArticles.com on May 19, 2010:



Creating titles for a series of related articles is easy – provided you follow 3 simple guidelines.

We often refer to the concept of “article sets” – articles that are related, yet stand-alone. If you write article sets for any length of time, you’ll inevitably create a few in which the articles are so interrelated that they fundamentally form a sequential series – one where each article flows naturally into the next.

Trouble is, EzineArticles by its very nature is not conducive to a sequential series of articles. Readers tend to find your articles as single links in the chain rather than the entire chain … and most will not be inclined to search for those missing links in your article series. So using common literary title additions like Part 1, Part 2, etc. isn’t recommended.

The key to solving this dilemma lies in creating titles that are optimized for the unique nature of articles in a series. Understanding WHY proper titles are so important will help you discover HOW to create the perfect titles for your next series.

3 Vital Considerations for Titles in an Article Series:

  1. Articles Need to Deliver on the Promises of the Title – If your title reads “10 Tips to Regrow Your Hair” but only one tip is given, the article has not delivered on the promise made in the title! If you tell your reader that something’s going to be there and it’s not, you’ve just created a negative user experience and severely reduced your credibility as an author.
  2. Articles Need to Stand Alone – Ask yourself, “Does the reader have to look at my other articles in this series to get the benefit?” If the answer is no, then the article stands alone. Articles that stand alone amplify the power of your series articles by providing so much benefit that the reader seeks out more articles written by you.
  3. Articles Need to be Optimized for Distribution – Remember, the traffic your article receives on our site is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to potential exposure. The problem is that series articles rarely get picked up and distributed. Publishers are looking for specific content – so not everything in your series will be applicable to them.

So how do you write series article titles that are distributor friendly? That’s easy – just remove the numbers!

Instead of using phrases like “Part 1 of 3″ to identify your articles in a series (boring and SEO unfriendly), use a phrase with applicable keywords (interesting and very SEO friendly)!

For Example:

  • “5 Ways to Produce the Perfect Video – Hiring Qualified Talent” – BADThis article doesn’t deliver because it only talks about one issue, not five like the title promises.
  • “Producing the Perfect Video – Hiring Qualified Talent” – PERFECT This title is specific, still in a series and optimized for success – exactly what readers and publishers are looking for!

In the end, everybody benefits when your series articles’ titles are optimized. Your readers have a positive user experience. Our Editors get the pleasure of approving your article quickly. Distributors and publishers quickly find the information they’re seeking. And best of all, you’ll increase your potential of getting more readers, additional website traffic, increased exposure and enhanced credibility as an author!!


A very well-written article by Penny. I use EzineArticles.com a great deal and can easily say that it is the #1-rated article directory on the web. Nothing else comes close.

-REF

Regarding the Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance


When the Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance is implemented, their new unified search marketplace will extend our reach to more than 150 million searchers in the U.S. and nearly 577 million searchers worldwide.

-RF

Five Advanced Keyword Research Tools

(the following is a post by Elisa Gabbert)

Sometimes a basic, free keyword suggestion tool just isn’t enough. If you’re ready to move beyond the limited functionality of most online tools to do more in-depth keyword research for SEO and pay-per-click campaigns, here are five advanced keyword research tools well worth checking out.

SEM Rush

SEMRush: SEMRush is a competitive research tool that’s useful for both SEO and PPC keyword research and analysis. It has several pricing levels; most of the keyword information is available in the free version, but paid versions return more results. SEMRush offers several features that can help you determine the value and competitiveness of keywords:

  • Keyword Trends, Cost and Volume – SEM Rush scrapes data from Google to tell you the average and current monthly search volume of a keyword, whether the keyword is trending up or down in use, and how competitive it is.
  • Top Competitors for Your Keywords – You can view a list of the domains that rank for the same keywords as you, and you can also see how much overlap in keywords you have with a given domain.

This data is helpful for determining how you measure up to competitors for your top keywords. If you’re falling behind, you may need to drill down into your keywords and determine where you can increase relevance – potentially by expanding mid- and long-tail keywords. The downside is, all competitive tools have limited use, since what your competitors are doing isn’t necessarily going to work for you.Independent keyword research is crucial for gaining a competitive edge.

Compete

Compete: As the name suggests, Compete is another competitive intelligence tool. A Compete account allows you to compare traffic and engagement metrics for competitive sites as well as analyze competitors’ keyword strategies.

Analytics tools include:

  • Search Analytics: Find search referrals for a given site or category or enter a keyword to see which sites get traffic from it.
  • Referral Analytics: Enter a site or category to see which websites send traffic to it and get traffic from it.

Continue reading »

Laptop Parts and Laptop Accessories

Laptop and notebook parts online shop. Here you are sure to find the big choice of laptops accessories and parts. They offer a wide range of high-standard AC/Auto/Air adapters; Laptop Batteries; dell batteries; CDRW, DVD, DWDRW, Floppy, CD-Rom Drives, Hard and Zip Drives; Port Replicators and various Accessories. Their high-quality production is manufactured by well-known brands: Dell, Compaq/HP, Toshiba, IBM/Lenovo, Apple, Sony, Acer, Gateway, Panasonic and more.

How Keywords Affect Your Rankings

We all want to know how keywords affect our rankings, but to find out we’ll need to do a little work. Many say keywords are the key to good search engine rankings, although they aren’t at all the only factor.

If you need a tool to help you decide on your keywords, try Google’s Keyword Suggestion Tool – it allows you to test your keyword rankings by showing you statistics on recent searches for them. It’s a great tool when you have no clue which keyword you should choose, as it can give you a list of terms that were recently searched on.

Keyword Density

Keyword density refers to the number of the keywords contained within your text relative to the amount of text there is. Preferred keyword density ratios vary between search engines, but you should generally try to keep them between two and eight percent (major search engines prefer the lower end). Keyword analysis tools can help to optimize a web page’s keyword density. These tools are good if you’re not sure of what you’re doing, as they’re very intuitive and explain things as you go.

Counting the Keywords

Many SEO experts will tell you that the keyword density of your text isn’t a very important factor, and that you should be careful not to overdo it. So is there a limit? How many times should you use your keywords? SEO experts won’t be able to answer these questions for you, because no-one’s really sure of the answer. The best answer is that it changes regularly, and you can never be sure – you have to experiment to see what works for you.

Location of Keywords

When testing the effects of keyword location, we found that pages with the keywords at the top and bottom of the page ranked higher on Google than pages with the keywords in the middle.

Many other search engines also give keywords more or less weight based on their location, but keep in mind that each search engine’s algorithm is different. Here’s a list of how most search engines prioritize keyword positions, from most to least:

  1. Domain name
  2. Page title
  3. Headings (i.e. H1, H2, etc.)
  4. Body text (the first 2 to 3 KB usually counts more)
  5. Meta tags (especially description)
  6. Links (including keywords in the URL or link text of links to you)
  7. Alt text (the ‘alt’ descriptions for your pictures)

Really, though, keyword density is one of those areas where you’ll have trouble on your hands if you try to second guess the search engines. Be cautious.

PPC Marketing is a Popular Method of Advertisement on the Web

PPC marketing or pay per click marketing is the most popular method of advertisement employed by various websites on the Internet. PPC marketing may often be referred to as pay for position, cost per click or pay for performance. But regardless of the term used, PPC marketing is the online advertiser’s medium of choice for promoting products and services to online consumers.

PPC marketing is beneficial to both the advertiser and the consumer. Advertisers using PPC marketing only need to pay for the actual click-throughs linked to their sites from search engines. At the same time as consumers are relieved of having to get annoying emails or pop-up ads for products and services.

When an online consumer searches for a specific product or service on the Internet, corresponding PPC marketing ads are also displayed alongside the results generated by the search engine. This forms a highly targeted consumer group that is more likely to purchase a specific product or service. In addition, websites get to limit their advertisement costs with the use of PPC marketing. PPC marketing is truly a winning solution for both parties.

Possible drawbacks of PPC marketing

Despite the obvious advantages of PPC marketing, there are possible drawbacks that can cancel out its benefits. One of the most common problems associated with PPC marketing is the inexperience of many people attempting to use this profitable advertisement method. Simply submitting PPC marketing ads to a search engine such as google, does not make up the entire campaign.

PPC marketing requires a calculated and systematic approach to setting up ads. PPC marketing involves the use of keywords and biddings in order to get top placement on a search engine. Getting top search engine placement helps boost traffic to a website that can easily translate into profit.

Without the necessary experience and knowledge to carry out a typical PPC marketing ad, may turn into an expensive campaign that does not convert into profit. PPC marketing ads also require continuous funding, as discontinued payments will also result in discontinued ads. This can be unfavorable for a website that has already built high rankings with their PPC marketing ads.

Bidding on keywords can also be quite costly, as the growing number of websites on the web struggle against each other to bid on the most popular keyword for their PPC marketing ad. Obviously small business websites are at a disadvantage here since big business websites are able to pay more for popular keywords related to their site. This is because most small businesses only set aside a small portion of their capital for advertisement, putting them at a disadvantage.

Running an effective PPC marketing campaign

There are a number of things that a website should consider when running an effective PPC marketing campaign. It is important to develop a marketing plan in order to get the most return on investment from PPC marketing. Selecting the most appropriate keywords that relate to the site’s business is essential in PPC marketing.

However, simply choosing the most popular keywords does not necessarily translate into profit. Selecting more specific keywords that will put a site within the first ten results of a search also gets greater awareness from online consumers. In addition, it doesn’t cost as much as getting the top spot for PPC marketing.

It is also important that a website constantly monitors the performance of their PPC marketing campaign. This will help the site modify any existing PPC marketing ad to make it more productive. At the same time any PPC marketing ad that has not proven effective can be immediately discontinued. Altering PPC marketing ads is a continuous process that many websites do in order to increase their return on investment.

Getting professional help with PPC marketing

The popularity of PPC marketing has given rise to professionals offering PPC marketing services for small and big businesses. Hiring a professional PPC marketing company is advisable for a small business without experience in PPC marketing. Most PPC marketing companies offer reasonable rates for their services and at the same time produce acceptable results.

A PPC marketing professional can attend to all the details commonly involved in a PPC marketing campaign. Handling a PPC marketing campaign is a time consuming process that can be overwhelming for a small business. A PPC marketing professional can help set up a PPC marketing campaign and later on train someone from within the business to handle it to ensure its continued success.

Casino Gambling Index – Online Slots

Casino Gambling Index is another site that acts as a ratings guide for the best on line slots games. Online slots games are all the rage amongst serious gamblers who have taken their skills to the Internet to play and compete.

Casino Scandinavia – Online Slot Games

Online Casino Scandinavia is a ratings guide to the best online casinos, poker rooms and gaming sites on the web. They also provide rankings for the best online slot games on the Internet. Today, online slot games are becoming more and more popular.

Online Casino Scandinavia – Online Roulette

Online Casino Scandinavia is a ratings guide to the best online casinos, poker rooms and gaming sites on the web. They also provide rankings for the best online roulette on the Internet. Online roullette is becoming very popular on the Internet these days.

More Industry News


Affiliate Spotlight

Calendar

September 2010
M T W T F S S
« Jul    
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
27282930  

Syndication Feeds